Map Technique cons

Question 1

Dot maps

Answer 1

large dots mean less specific accuracy
too many dots make it clustered and hard to read
can be hard to choose an accurate scale
large area and wide range of sizes to draw can be time consuming.
lots of dots causes overcrowding

Question 2

Isoline maps

Answer 2

lots of variation makes it hard to construct.
Random values in the middle can make it hard to draw isolines.
it can be difficult to know exactly where the isolines go if you have small amounts of data in an area.
Requires a large amount of data for lots of locations.

Question 3

Cloropleth maps

Answer 3

An average does not show the variation across an area
Boundaries give the impression of marked differences between areas when in reality changes will be more gradual.

Question 4

Proportional symbols

Answer 4

Scale has to be carefully considered.
size of symbols can obscure precise locations
sometimes difficult to work out an actual scale
Time consuming to draw

Question 5

Flow maps

Answer 5

Base map has to be simple to avoid confusion or the map becomes too busy.
Times consuming to construct especially if you have wide ranging values.
careful planning is required as to where the flow lines are going so they don’t obscure another.
It can be hard to keep uniform thickness if lines have to curve.
Hard to pinpoint precise locations locations involved especially if wide arrows are involved.

Question 6

Cross sections

Answer 6

Can be difficult to draw especially if contour lines are very close together.
sometimes difficult to work out the height of each contour or their intervals.
It can be hard to see exactly where contours are in woodland areas.

Question 7

Sphere Of Influence

Answer 7

data is gathered by questionnaire so there is a chance people will be missed.
Harder to draw in densely populated areas.
No physical barriers are taken into account which may affect SOI, Eg Mountain ranges.

Question 8

Transect

Answer 8

It can be challenging to allocate a land use when a building has multiple uses across different levels.
if regeneration has taken place it can be hard to compare a transect to an urban model.
Often difficult to incorporate a wide variety of land uses within a single line.

Question 9

Annotated Overlay

Answer 9

sometimes information can be obscured if map is too busy
time must be spent considering what will be written to avoid a cluttered map.
With several overlays displaying different aspects it can become quite complicated.
Too much info will obscure a map/sketch/photo, so careful thought must go into annotations as to not give too much info